by Dan | Jan 1, 2018 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Heart Health, Holidays, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health, Winter
2017 is done, and 2018 is here! How was the year for you? Did you accomplish things you wanted? Is there anything in particular you want to accomplish in 2018? What is it you want? That is a good question for all of us. We have to decide what is personally important to us, and how bad do we want. At the same time, what kind of work are we willing to do to achieve. In general, New Years Resolutions don’t always have a good track record. It may be a good time to try to focus on things, and we all have good intentions, but the secret is how are we going to keep doing this year round, year after year? You need to keep going back to your original goals, your original reasons as to why you even want to accomplish certain goals. Why is it important to you?
Here we celebrated yesterday Jill reaching her 1000 mile running for the year, and Jenn reaching 1500 miles. Is the total important? No. It was a goal for them, and they achieved it, and we helped celebrate by running outside with them for the final mile, in what was unquestionably the coldest day of the year! That is what friends do…that is what family does…in this case, our running family. It always makes goals more achievable, and more meaningful, if you have someone else helping you along the way, motivating you along the way!
How truer can this be! Don’t think about it too hard, it will just give you more time to back out of your goals, or come up with excuses not to work for something you know would be of benefit to you. Just Go!
This was the group that came out yesterday to go for their final ceremonial run. We all did a mile (well, a couple of us did 3.5 miles!). I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical prior to going to meet for this run because of the cold…-22, with a wind chill of -40! Far from ideal, but also, if you wear the right clothing, far from impossible as well. We did it, and we helped them get to their final goal. Then we all went out to Caribou to celebrate! That is a reason to do this…spend time with your friends and family…people who truly do care about you, and who you care about. We want to be here more to have more of these moments. Always striving…
I will be the first to admit it…it was cold. If we were not meeting for this specific reason, and for a mile, there is no way I would have gone outside on my own. My workout would have been inside for all of it. It does prove to yourself as well how tough you really are (or stupid! Sometimes this is a very thin line!). You always have to take into account the conditions, the weather. When you are in a group, we all look out for each other. If I had been out there on my own, I would have been worried. What if I would have fallen, and it was that cold out? You have to be smart in this regards as well.
We stick together…look out for each other…are there for each other! There is even more of us when the weather is good! Your friends and family who help push you when things get uncomfortable make things or goals what would otherwise seem impossible, possible! Sometimes you even amaze yourself what you are capable of. Our biggest limitations tend to be between our ears! Believe in yourself, and good things happen.
Just remember, there is never a perfect time. If we keep waiting for that perfect time, we won’t get off of the couch. We won’t achieve our goals, and we won’t live our lives to the fullest that it could be. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Don’t wait for perfect weather. And…normally, I would say don’t wait until Jan 1 to make a start…start anytime, just keep it going. Since today is Jan 1…then this is a good day to start. Come on, what are you waiting for? We are not guaranteed tomorrow! Live today, achieve our goals, be happy, and be around to enjoy the things in life we find worthwhile! Just be safe as well!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3750
by kelsey | Dec 28, 2017 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Exercise, Food, Goals, Heart Health, Holidays, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
As we approach the weekend and New Year, many of our conversations involve discussion of New Years resolutions….a common topic for the month of January. Personally, I don’t really like resolutions…I don’t think you need to wait for a certain time of the year to focus on your health! You can do that anytime! I also don’t really agree with the mentality we have of binging on everything over the holidays followed by a “starvation” period in January. What fun is that!! Usually those drastic changes don’t last and you are back to eating normally and once again stuck in that revolving door of overeating followed by guilt and then restriction…which then leads us back to overeating because we can’t stick with it! Instead, I like to focus on healthy living all year round!
Choosing a few small things to work on over time that will help you create new habits that you can stick with. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Eat balanced! Strive for well balanced meals and snacks that are nutrient rich and portioned. Make half your plate fruits and veggies, a quarter lean protein, and a quarter whole grains.
- Eat consistently-eat several small meals and snacks a day instead of one or two big meals. This will keep your metabolism going and prevent you from being starving which always leads to overeating.
- Start your day off right with breakfast- this will help get your metabolism going and provide adequate nutrients to fuel you through your day.
- Focus on health, not weight. We put so much focus on the number on the scale it can drive us half crazy! Instead focus on healthy habits such as getting more fruits and veggies, using smaller plates and portions sizes, engaging in regular activity, etc etc. The weight will come when you achieve healthy habits!
- Eat dinner as a family. Take time to visit and enjoy. This will slow down your eating process and allow you to think more mindfully about your hunger and fullness. Ask yourself: Should I stop now? Do I really need seconds? etc.
- Get active-strive to get at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week. If you can get up to 60 minutes, even better! Can’t do it all at once? That’s ok, research has shown that even 10 minutes at a time provides benefit so split it up between your day. We all have a million excuses to not exercise, so you need to throw out the excuse book and just put your mind to it! Start with 5-10 minutes and go from there. You will most likely find that you feel so much better after you exercise which makes doing it so much more enjoyable!
- Think positive- winter is a tough time for us…it’s dark, cold, and dreary. It can really wear us down at times, so instead focus on the positives. Positive thinking will help you be healthier instead and out!
- Get help from a qualified professional. If you need assistance with reaching your health goals, reach out for help! A Registered Dietitian (RD)/Licensed Nutrition (LN) like myself is your best source of reliable and credible food and nutrition information. Our next group wellness program STRIVE 2 Survive starts March 13th, but I can certainly work with you individually now!
Baby steps turn into big ones, so start slow and small and put more of a focus on health and wellness long term versus the quick fix! You CAN do this! Happy New Year!
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by Dan | Dec 24, 2017 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Heart Health, Holidays, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
It was a great run this AM…not because of the temperature. It was cold outside, with a wind-chill below zero. It was great because of who I was running with. We had our weekly Watertown Area Run Club, and Sarah and I were running with our friends! Our running family. None of our group runs are really about running, but it is about spending time with people you care about, and who also happen to like running. Going out this AM by myself was probably not going to happen otherwise. As soon as I saw the temperature, a 1000 different excuses started going through my head to come up with something else to do for exercise other than running outside. But, my running family was going to be there…so you get up, put more warm stuff on, and get out the door.
It was our second annual Christmas run…and we were all decked out in our Christmas gear. Even Santa Claus was there in full garb! That also made it fun. We were quite the force going down the road. The only problem was we started at 6 AM, so there were not many cars, or people, out yet at that time. Several cars honked, and even rolled down the window to say Merry Christmas! That also kept us motivated to be out there.
We all posed in our Christmas garb in front of Makepeace jewelers. All smiling, laughing, then running…just spending time together. I had to go on a longer run yet today, and was not too eager to run on my own another 5 miles in this cold, and would have easily just headed to the car and left. Amanda decided she was going to run 10 miles too, and she was dressed as Mrs. Claus. We probably looked liked quite the sight running down highway 81. We kept each other going! Thanks Amanda! It made the cold tolerable! Now we both can enjoy the rest of the Christmas holiday!
Here are the rest of many of our run club members who could not be here this AM…but we were thinking about them this AM.
Merry Christmas to all my running friends…my running family, as well as to the rest of my family! Merry Christmas to all of you as well…take care of yourself. Get out and keep moving…be around longer to spend more time with your family as well. Strive to survive! All of this activity is part of this running Doc’s life…make it a part of your life as well! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3742
by kelsey | Dec 20, 2017 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Family, Food, Holidays, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Since this will be my last post for this week, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! I am thankful for a wonderful job and the opportunity to get to work with you! I am looking forward to a fun-filled next few days with family and my cute little elf pictured above! My family, just like many of you, always has a spread of food at gatherings and every time we ask ourselves why do we over-prepare every time! I think it’s bred into us that we can never run out of food and it’s better to have more than not enough. I am human and will enjoy a few cookies, caramels, and sweets, however I will be practicing what I preach for the most part.
Here are some basic tips to help you get through the holiday eating without gaining a bunch of weight!
*Get your exercise in–schedule a time in the day to get your activity done. You will feel better afterwards and not guilty for indulging in a treat here and there.
*Bring a healthy dish to share. There will be plenty of un-healthy items to enjoy that it’s nice to have the option of healthy food…especially when the mindless eating happens.
*Speaking of that mindless eating…that is another thing to practice: pay attention to how hungry and how full you are. This can help you decide when and how much to eat, rather than just grazing and not realizing how much I am taking in.
*And most of all, stop and smell the roses (for lack of a better phrase)! Christmas is a time to reflect on the real meaning and fully enjoy why we celebrate it. Take time to visit and engage with your loved ones. The food will always be there and there are no rules that say you have to clean your plate…instead use the extra food for leftovers and spread the enjoyment of the food into a few days rather than eating it in one sitting.
I wish you all a very blessed Christmas!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Dec 17, 2017 | Etc.
There is nothing like reaching your goals you set for yourself! But, nobody gets there on their own. We all have help, whether working out beside us, or if our family members, they may be taking over more responsibilities at home to allow you the time to do this. Be sure to thank those people for what they do for you. I have said numerous times that Sarah has been my main training partner. Yesterday was another example. We are planning on running at Disney in the next few weeks. We will be running the half marathon with our twin daughters, one running with each of us. Then, I am also doing the marathon the next day. I had my last long run in yesterday getting ready for this—20 miles. The weather was great. I did the first 5 miles, and the last 5 miles on my own, and then Sarah ran the other 10 miles with me. Overall, it is the difference of being able to accomplish this or not. Whether we are running 20 miles, or 2 blocks, it does not matter. If we have someone out there helping to push us, or motivate us, it is so much easier to accomplish. And, not to mention, that much more enjoyable. That is the benefit of our run club as well. We all run 4 miles together every Sunday morning. We run to see how everyone is doing, not to just run. It can be the highlight of the week!
We are there for each other, supporting each, motivating each other! Running friends who are like family. We may run together as a group, but there are always some individuals who do even more for you.
I refer to this picture as the three stooges! Steve and Tom always make for a good conversation on the run. Speed is not the objective. It is about friends working out, together, and having a lot of “fish stories”, even the ones that got away, or the tall tales!
Sarah and my daughter Molly ran with a bunch of the other “girls” from our run club for a “Tree Skirt Run” in SF last month. They all got to deck out in their Christmas garb, and have fun running a 5k run. They had a ball!
So what are you waiting for? Most of the time it tends to just be another excuse for not doing exercise. It won’t ever change it you don’t make an attempt. But, when you have others to support you, it is so much easier, not to mention so much more fun! Rely on those people. They need your support as much as you need theirs! Help each other. That is what it is all about! Life can be challenging enough, don’t make it harder than it has to be. When you are offered help, take it! It makes those individuals giving the help feel better too! Here are some pictures or our run club getting ready to take off…to take off and have fun!
Cheer for each other…be there for each other. There are days when we all need some help. Everybody! Our lives can depend on it! Nobody said doing exercise was easy…but you can make it easier. We all need some help in achieving our goals. Cheer each other!
What are you waiting for? Don’t make another excuse. The next year is coming upon us soon. You still have a few more weeks to plan on how you are going to go at this. There is no time like now…we don’t know everything about our future, so don’t keep putting it off. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3735
